Archive for February 21, 2011

The democratic movement, sweeping through North Africa and the Middle East, has actually made it to China, well almost. Less than two days ago, the Chinese Communist Party nearly faced their own wave of protests. Unfortunately, the Chinese government acted quickly to crush the fledgling movement. As a result, much of the gatherings and demonstrations were quelled, long before it gained momentum.

Initially planned were 13 protest locations stationed throughout the country. It is not known who was behind the planning of the protests, as it was organized over Chinese social networking sites. Nonetheless, the Chinese government moved swiftly to make sure that this event did not get out of control. Social network sites were shut down, texts were blocked, other things of that nature occurred. Several people were arrested and detained by police, but the government did not face significant opposition.

What just happened in China is a small event. Some people were taken in by the police, a few are actually still missing, but most of the people were sent home or turned away. Many of those involved were actually not aware of the situation and were just curious of all the commotion. In the end, the Communist Party put down the calls for a “Jasmine Revolution” extremely quickly, way before things fell out of their grasp.

One should understand the differences between the Communist system and the strongmen the Middle East. What sets the Communists apart from Hosni Mubarak’s regime is the Communists’ extreme emphasis on surveillance, police, brainwashing, and controlling the flow of information. The Communists came to prominence from revolutionary ideals, becoming experts in recognizing and repressing revolutionary forces. These people were born from revolution, specially trained to anticipate, manage, and crush an impending revolution before it even occurs. If the Communists are good for anything, it’s dealing with revolution.

Even so, the people can still prevail. Just because it is relatively harder to spark a revolution in China and Vietnam does not mean that it’s impossible. At the end of the day, the people decide what is best for the country, and no amount of gunpowder can ever change that. When the battle for freedom falls on the hearts and souls of the citizens, guns will become useless. If people are willing to die for their country, a gunshot will mean nothing. Tunisia has shown us, Egypt has shown us, and now Libya will soon show us that under any regime, the will of the people reign supreme.